Congratulations to Alfred K. Cheung, MD who has been appointed to serve as the Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Internal Medicine, effective July 1, 2018. Dr. Cheung is the Chief of the Division of Nephrology & Hypertension, a position he will retain along with this new appointment. He has an impressive research background, with a focus on clinical and translational research. Most recently, Dr. Cheung served as a network PI for the ground-breaking SPRINT study published in the New England Journal of Medicine last fall focusing on the impact of blood pressure control on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and other endpoints. In addition to his focus on clinical and translational laboratory investigation, Dr. Cheung has done an outstanding job recruiting a strong cohort of basic scientists to his division. He has been a strong leader and consistent advocate for research within his division. He is dedicated to improving discovery science across the department, and is looking forward to growing the available research resources and opportunities in this new role. Dr. Cheung will replace Guy Zimmerman, MD who has been an incredibly strong supporter of research in the department since he began serving as the Associate Chair for Research in 2009. As an accomplished physician-scientist, Dr. Zimmerman has a long history of scientific investigation and research leadership contributions, along with a dedication to collaboration. He has created strong partnerships across our campus to improve research opportunities for our department faculty. Dr. Zimmerman has worked tirelessly on training and career development programs for researchers. He has advised a large number of the department’s early faculty on both general career development and grantsmanship. Throughout his career he has also served in institutional leadership roles, including directorships of the University’s Fellowship-to-Faculty Transition Program, and the Program in Human Molecular Biology and Genetics, a precursor to the current Molecular Medicine Program. The Department of Internal Medicine has benefitted enormously from his skilled expertise, breadth of experience and valuable mentorship. We thank him for his many contributions.